Thursday, July 31, 2008

I mentioned the ALA Copyright Slider previously and now there is digital version of the slider on the ALA Copyright Advisory Network web site. While it doesn't solve all of your copyright woes, it is a helpful tool and one worth bookmarking.

Someone emailed me and asked about the different in scanner quality between an inexpensive and expensive scanner. Here's the analogy I included in my reply:

I have a digital camera that cost about $200 and takes great photos. A professional photographer friend just bought a camera for under $2000 that takes 10 megapixel photos that are of outstanding quality. Obviously, what he can do with his camera is more than what I can do with mine. Mine is built for a consumer who needs only a few options, while a $2000 camera is built for someone who needs lots of control and flexibility. I think the same is true when talking about the difference in digitization equipment.

If you have an analogy that you use when explaining the difference in equipment, please let me know. Analogies are often a great way of getting a point across.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Back in December, a side-by-side comparison of four book scanners was announced. The event occurred in June and a commenter posted a message in this blog about it. Since someone has asked specifically about the outcome of the event, here is the comment that was left:

The vendor presentations from the book scanner comparison over in Germany are now available on line. Interesting specs regarding technical differences (electronic shutter industrial cameras versus mechanical shuttered commercial cams, bayer filtered versus non bayer, etc). There is also one presentation where they actual mention maximum rated speed and "actual" production numbers (taking into account book load/unload time etc). Some other good info on what it actually takes to build a scanning factory from the ground up.

Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein and Librarian of Congress James H. Billington recently announced that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has become a founding partner in the World Digital Library (WDL).

NARA will contribute digital versions of important documents from its collections to the WDL, which will be launched for the international public in early 2009. These documents include the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, the Bill of Rights, the Emancipation Proclamation, Civil War photographs, naturalization and immigration records of famous Americans, and photographs by Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange and Lewis Hine. Click here to see the images that NARA contributed to the World Digital Library. Proposed in 2005 by the Library of Congress in cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the WDL will make available on the Internet significant primary materials from countries and cultures around the world. The project’s goal is to promote international understanding and to provide a resource for use by students, teachers, and general audiences.

In addition to NARA and the Library of Congress, the WDL project partners include cultural institutions from Brazil, China, Egypt, Israel, Russia, Saudi Arabia and many other countries.

Friday, July 25, 2008

It is the end of the week and I can see that I haven't blogged much in the last five days, although I have spend a lot of time communicating via email, telephone, social networking tools and face-to-face. I am always pleased when the communications go smoothly, like this tram that runs smoothly between the opposite ends of Concourse A at the Detroit Airport. However, little things can throw communications off-track.

Thinking back over the week, I am reminded of the questions that we need keep in mind in order to ensure that we communicate well:

Did you say what you mean? Eliminating jargon helps as well as stating your assumptions.

Did you hear what others said as well as what they meant to say? Repeating back what you heard as well as asking questions can help. I find that documenting conversations with a follow-up email can provide a good "paper" trail and also surface discrepancies.

Were you communicating with the correct people? If you need have decisions made, are you communicating with the person who has the authority to make the decisions? Are you communicating with people who have the most accurate information?

Did you keep the communications on-track and focused? Sometimes you need to go off-track, but a meeting of all off-track conversations (often called sidebars) is not an effective meeting.

Did you stay cool and calm? Getting angry often sidetracks communications, so staying calm can be important. That doesn't mean that you should never get angry, but you shouldn't make a habit of it.

And how have my communications been this week? Let's just say that some of the groups I'm in communicate better than others (minor derailments)! But I am always hopeful that groups can learn from their mistakes and so I believe next week will be better.

Below is the abstract on an ERPAePRINT entitled "Economics and Engineering for Preserving Digital Content." The 23-page document is available for free.

Progress towards practical long-term preservation seems to be stalled. Preservationists cannot afford specially developed technology, but must exploit what is created for the marketplace. Economic and technical facts suggest that most preservation work should be shifted from repository institutions to information producers and consumers.

Prior publications describe solutions for all known conceptual challenges of preserving a single digital object, but do not deal with software development or scaling to large collections. Much of the document handling software needed is available. It has, however, not yet been selected, adapted, integrated, or deployed for digital preservation. The daily tools of both information producers and information consumers can be extended to embed preservation packaging without much burdening these users.

We describe a practical strategy for detailed design and implementation. Document handling is intrinsically complicated because of human sensitivity to communication nuances. Our engineering section therefore starts by discussing how project managers can master the many pertinent details.

I have not yet had a chance to read the article, but the graphics have peaked by interest!

The message below has circulated around New York State, where we have received very heavy rains this week. Some areas have had too much water, which then finds its way indoors. The message, however, does not cover computer equipment, which can contain valuable information including digitized materials. For help on what to do with computer equipment, check here and here. Recognize that the most important thing to do with computer equipment is to prevent it from receiving storm damage.

Heavy rains this summer have impacted many parts of New York State. The New York State Library sincerely hopes that local libraries and cultural organizations are not impacted.

In the event that a library or other cultural organization must deal with water damaged material, state may wish to visit the New York State Library's Division of Library Development's web page for advice and a listing of helpful resources at: www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev

For information and updates on flooding, please visit the Office of the State Emergency Management (SEMO) website at: www.semo.state.ny.us/

If your institution does suffer water damage, please let the State Library know by emailing Barbara Lilley, Conservation/Preservation Program Officer, Division of Library Development, New York state Library at blilley@mail.nysed.gov or 518-486-4864.

Below are tips for dealing with water damage from the Heritage Emergency National Task Force.

Save Your Treasures the Right Way

If you're careful, you can halt further damage

Hurricanes and floods threaten not only homes, but treasured possessions: family heirlooms, photos, and other keepsakes. Even if they are completely soaked, they can probably still be saved if they are not contaminated with sewage or chemicals. The Heritage Emergency National Task Force, a coalition of 41 national organizations and federal agencies including FEMA, offers these basic guidelines:

Safety first! With any disaster there may be health risks. Wear plastic or rubber gloves during cleanup. If there is mold, wear protective gear-surgical mask or respirator, goggles, and coveralls.

Prevent mold. Mold can form within 48 hours, so you will need to work fast. The goal is to reduce the humidity and temperature around your treasures as you proceed to clean and dry them.

Air-dry. Gentle air-drying is best for all your treasured belongings-indoors, if possible. Do not use hair dryers, irons, ovens, and prolonged exposure to sunlight-they will do irreversible damage. Increase good indoor airflow with fans, open windows, air conditioners, and dehumidifiers.

Handle with care. Use great caution in handling your heirlooms, which can be especially fragile when wet. Separate damp materials: remove the contents from drawers; take photographs out of damp albums; remove paintings and prints from frames; place white paper towels between the pages of wet books.

Clean gently. Loosen dirt and debris on fragile objects gently with soft brushes and cloths. Avoid rubbing, which can grind in dirt.

Salvage photos. Clean photographs by rinsing them carefully in clean water. Air-dry photos on a plastic screen or paper towel, or by hanging them by the corner with plastic clothespins. Do not let the image come into contact with other surfaces as it dries.

Prioritize. You may not be able to save everything, so focus on what's most important to you, whether for historic, monetary, or sentimental reasons.

Can't do it all? Damp objects and items that cannot be dealt with immediately should be put in open, unsealed boxes or bags. Photos, papers, books, and textiles should be frozen if you can't get them dry within 48 hours.

Call in a pro. If a precious item is badly damaged, a conservator may be able to help. Be sure to collect broken pieces. Set your treasure aside in a well-ventilated room until you find professional help. To locate a conservator, contact the Guide to Conservation Services, American Institute for Conservation, (202) 452-9545, http://aic.stanford.edu.

These recommendations are intended as guidance only. Neither the Heritage Emergency National Task Force nor its sponsors, Heritage Preservation and FEMA, assume responsibility or liability for treatment of damaged objects.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The slides for this presentation - JPEG2000 for Archives and Libraries - are online. Both Dr. Robert Buckley and Justin Dávila delivered information in this session. It's easy to flip through the slides, so I'll not excerpt anything here. Be sure to look at the definitions of JPEG2000.

Monday, July 21, 2008

At the SLA Annual Conference, the organization launched "23 Things", which is a learning activity for becoming more familiar with web 2.0 tools and technologies. As of today, more than 400 SLA members have signed up to do 23 Things, which a goal of having 10% of the membership participate (approx. 1,100 people).

While I actually teach people about web 2.0 tools, I have decided to participate in 23 Things to perhaps learn more (hey, you never know) and to support SLA's efforts. In order to get through the lesson each week, a person is expected to spend 15 minutes per day on it. If a person is already familiar with the topic that week, then the person gets to spend less time on it! (And if a person gets hooked on a topic, well then that person may find himself spending more time on it.)

The first week was just reading and the second week is setting up a blog (which I already have several of). With the correct tagging (in Technorati and del.icio.us), I'll be able to follow the progress of other SLA members. Now that should be fun!

If you are an SLA member, please consider joining 23 Things. Learn a little and have fun, too!

Depending on your work history, it is likely that you have had jobs where your job title and what you reallydid were two different things. My favorites are all those people in financial institutions with the title "vice president." What do they really do?

Thinking about your situation, in your digitization programs (or digital libraries), are the job titles and job descriptions accurate? You may be in an institution where the job titles are all standardized, boring, irrelevant and unchangeable. It would be nice to have meaningful job titles, but I know that doesn't always happen. However, the job descriptions should be accurate and reflect the work people are really doing.

Because of the way job descriptions are written in some organizations, they may used standard language. That language can remove the details that are important and which the employee should want to have documented. Employees should want their job descriptions to be accurate, especially when it is time for their annual reviews, and you should want it to be accurate for accountability.

We might also rephrase this and say "What you see me doing, isn't what I should be doing." Another book I saw talked about the 80-20 rule (The 4-Hour Workweek). The Pareto principle, or 80–20 rule, is often quoted to fit a variety of different circumstances. It is that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. If 20% of what we do is what is really important, why do we spend time on everything else? For example, we spend a lot of time these days on email, but email is not where we do our work. It is easy to focus a lot of attention on stuff that we think is helpful (like email), while forgetting that the payoff will come from those things that produce the real results. So you might ask, what am I doing now that gives me and my organization no benefits? Corporations have used that thought to eliminate unnecessary meetings, reports and other activities. What can you eliminate so you can focus on the activities that really matter?

Of course, as I think about Carlsson's phrase, I also think about what I do in my work. Most you know me only as a blogger who writes frequently about digitization, but what do I really do?

My strength is in examining, evaluating, discussing and teaching things that will improve how we work. When I think about digitization (or even social networking), I'm interested in learning and teaching those ideas, tools, etc., that will make a difference. Yes, I'm interested in the theory, but it is the practice that will make a real difference. (I think my focus on practice confuses some graduate students who think that all they will learn is theory.)

When I work with organizations, I'm interested in knowing what they are doing know and then helping them discover what they could be doing differently. How could they work smarter, faster, and more efficiently. And...just as important...where should they be spending more time and energy in order to improve their outcomes.

I have made my mark with a few organizations for being the person who gets things done (and ensures that others do too). Thankfully, I have learned how to say "no" to some volunteer opportunities, since the rule is to give a busy person more things to do!

I am a person who understands how to network with others in order to find necessary resources. And I believe in connecting people and organizations that need to know about each other. I have always excelled at the "you should meet..." even when there was nothing in it for me.

I am a consultant, a speaker, an author, an adjunct faculty member, and a trainer. I used to describe myself as a corporate librarian. Many years ago, I describe myself with words that talked about my work in information technology. And many, many years ago, I worked in radio as well as with children in a local park. What you are likely not to see is that I'm also a wonderful gardener, a person who cares about the environment as well as friends and colleagues, and a good cook (all parts of the creative me).

By the way, this blog is approaching its fourth birthday on Aug. 30. Begun in 2004, I saw this blog as a way of letting you know what I do and think in regards to digitization. I have been thrilled to see its readership grow and to see the blog quoted by many people in many different languages. My thinking was that if you could understand what I knew about digitization, then you would understand how you might use my services. This blog, indeed, has brought opportunities my way and I am very grateful. This blog has also allowed me to meet many people and that has been wonderful! Digitization 101 crosses the boundaries between the work I do (my job) and what I do for fun. With more than 1,530 blog posts (and growing), it has become a rich repository of information about digitization, digital preservation, and copyright. You don't get to see the time and effort that goes into this blog, but I am happy that you continue to be pleased with its results.

This post has grown much longer than I thought it would! I guess Chris Carlsson's book has sparked some deep thinking. If anything in this post has given you reason to pause and think deeply for a moment, then it has done its job.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

12th European Conference on Research and Advanced Technology for Digital Libraries, September 14-19 2008, Aarhus, Denmark

The program for ECDL 2008 is available and can be found at:www.ecdl2008.org. The conference takes place September 14-19 2008 in Aarhus, Denmark. We want to point your attention to the deadline for early registration with reduced registration fee which is July 31 2008.

A very interesting program will featuring 3 invited talks, 38 paper presentations, a panel discussion and two poster/demo sessions. The conference is preceded by a day with tutorials and followed by two days of workshops. The conference will therefore provide ample opportunities for discussing hot issues in digital library research.

The invited talks are:

Brewster Kahle, who has suggested a title "Universal Access to All Knowledge"

Carole Gobles : “Curating Services and Workflows: the Good, the Bad and the Downright Ugly”

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Fifth International Conference on the Preservation of Digital Objects – iPres 2008 British Library Conference Centre, London, 29-30 September 2008www.bl.uk/ipres2008/register.html

The Fifth International Conference on the Preservation of Digital Objects (iPres 2008) will be held by the British Library at its Conference Centre in London on 29-30 September 2008. You can now view the preliminary programmeat www.bl.uk/ipres2008/programme.html.

This years’ conference will bring together almost eighty expert international speakers and facilitators and 200 delegates to explore the latest research, thinking and developments, national and international initiatives, empirical evidence and technology in preservation of digital objects.

The theme of this years’ conference is: Joined Up and Working: Tools and Methods for Digital Preservation and will address the principles, practice required to preserve digital content plus local and national examples of preservation activity.

iPres 2008 will appeal to librarians, archivists, curators, information managers, IT managers, digital preservation software and repository developers, vendors, researchers, consultants, publishers and trainers. This year, delegates can elect to follow a practitioner and a technical track through the programme.

To register now, visit: www.bl.uk/ipres2008/register.html. 150 of 250 places remain. Bookings made before 21 July will be charged at the reduced rate of £100+VAT. Bookings after 21 July will be charged at £125 + VAT. For more information or enquiries e-mail: ipres2008-mailings@bl.uk. The two-day programme starts each day at 08:45 and ends at 17:30.

Tessella has been working on advanced digital archiving solutions for many years, alongside some of the world’s most farsighted archiving organizations. In partnership with the UK National Archives, Tessella developed the Safety Deposit Box (SDB) to help confront the problem of digital preservation. The core SDB software has been in use at the UK National Archives for four years, and has recently been significantly enhanced as part of their Seamless Flow programme. Other users of SDB include Arkib Negara (Malaysia), the British Library, and the Schweizerisches Bundesarchiv (Swiss Federal Archives).

The web site doesn't really give many details about the product. If anyone has experience with this product, I'd like to hear your comments on it.

CO-SPONSORED BYSociety of American Archivists, American Library Association, and Center for Research Libraries

TAUGHT BY A FACULTY OF NATIONAL EXPERTS, this two-day conference on digital longevity provides information about the latest developments in digital preservation to help you with the life-cycle management of your institution's collections.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

I've written about the Zeutschel machines before, now I have a question. Who in the U.S. has the Zeutschel 12000 book scanner installed? And can you talk about your experience with someone else? I've been contacted by a library that has one and would like to interact with another organization that has one, in order to share information. (Think of this as an informal user group meeting.) If you have a Zeutschel book scanner and are willing to talk to someone else who also has one, please email me at hurst {at} hurstassociates.com and I'll put you all in touch with each other.

Thank you!

Update, July 17, 2008: Thanks to those to responded to this "call". I received messages from several people (on two continents) and have placed them in contact with each other.

The School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina is pleased to announce our second digital curation curriculum symposium. DigCCurr 2009: Digital Curation Practice, Promise and Prospects is part of the Preserving Access to Our Digital Future: Building an International Digital Curation Curriculum (DigCCurr) project. DigCCurr is a three-year (2006-2009), Institute of Museum and Library Services(IMLS)-funded collaboration between SILS and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The primary goals of the DigCCurr project are to develop a graduate-level curricular framework, course modules, and experiential components to prepare students for digital curation in various environments. DigCCurr initiatives in support of this goal are informed by representatives from the project’s collaborating institutions as well as an Advisory Board of experts from Australia, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The first symposium, DigCCurr2007: An International Symposium in Digital Curation, was held April 18-20, 2007, attracting nearly 300 attendees from ten countries. Participants explored the definition of digital curation and what skills are necessary for digital curation professionals working in libraries,archives, museums, data centers, and other data-intensive organizations. DigCCurr2009 will continue this theme, focusing on current practice and research surrounding digital curation with a look toward the future, and trends in preparing digital curation professionals.

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

We welcome submissions on a wide range of topics, including but not limited to the following:

• Digital curation synergies and collaboration: What are the challenges and opportunities for regional, national, and global cooperation and collaboration in digital curation practices and research? How do we approach these effectively? Where do practices and research converge and diverge across different organizational mandates and requirements? Strategies for building and leveraging relations and cooperation among a global audience of digital curation researchers and educators for improved delivery of digital curation research and practice opportunities for emerging professionals.

• Teaching and training at the international level: What are the barriers and advantages in providing quality and comparable education? How does the profession traverse credentials and certification? Graduate education and continuing education for practitioners; Examination of current teaching tools; Recruiting students; Perceptions on the changing professional competencies and personal attributes for employment in digital curation environments.

• Digital curation in relation to archives and museums: How is the environment shaping traditional responsibilities? How are synergies developing across libraries, archives, and museums? What are core competencies in digital curation? Can we develop common ground among participating disciplines and entities? What are implications for various professions, and what issues do the professions need to addressing separately?

• What is going on in real life with the curation of digital resources? We encourage people to undertake small-scale studies in order to share data and case studies about current practices, procedures and approaches within specific organizational contexts. What is happening in different sectors such as industry, federal government, state government, nonprofit cultural institutions?

• What do we need? Examination of scope, extent, relevance, and quality of current literature. What is useful? What is missing?

• Infrastructures in support of digital curation. How well is current technology meeting the needs of digital curation, and what should future technology research and development involve to better meet these needs? How do organizations incorporate digital curation principles and procedures into their administrative and managerial operations? How do we support sustainable infrastructure?

TYPES OF SUBMISSIONS

Contributed papersThe submission of original, recent, research and projects (including case studies), theoretical developments, or innovative practical applications providing insight into the above topics is encouraged. Submissions may be either a “Long Paper” (8 pages maximum) or “Short Paper” (2 pages), should be in ACM format and include title, author(s) and affiliation(s), abstract, and full text. Please submit paper as pdf file. Accepted papers will be published in the conference proceedings.

Contributed postersPosters presenting new and promising work, preliminary results of research projects, or “best practices” are welcomed. The content should clearly point out how the application contributes to innovation of thought or design within the field, how it addresses key challenges, as well as potential impact on the participant’s organization and/or practices in the field.Especially welcome are submissions from current students. Submissions should be in the form of a two-page paper in ACM format and include title, author(s) and affiliation(s), abstract, summary of the poster’s content (may include figures), and references to substantive supporting materials that will aid reviewers in determining suitability for the conference. Please submit paper as pdf file. The final version of these short papers will be published in the conference proceedings. During the conference, presenters are expected to display their work as a poster, incorporating text and illustrations as appropriate. Presenters can also use laptop computers as a way of supporting their posters (e.g. demonstration of related visualizations or applications).

PanelsPanels and technical sessions present topics for discussion such as cutting-edge research and design, analyses of trends, opinions on controversial issues, and contrasting viewpoints from experts in complementary professional areas. Innovative formats that involve audience participation are encouraged. These may include panels, debates, or forums, or case studies. Submissions should be in the form of a two-page paper in ACM format and include title, sponsor(s), name and affiliation(s) of all participants, providing an overview of the issues, projects, or viewpoints to be discussed by the panel. Please submit paper as pdf file. The final version of the two-page panel summary document will be published in the conference proceedings.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES & DEADLINES

September 30, 2008 Proposals due for contributed papers, panels and posters

November 15, 2008 Authors/proposers notified of acceptance

January 15, 2009 Final versions due for conference proceedings

April 2, 2009 Proceedings available for distribution at conference

International submissions are encouraged from any academic, nonprofit, corporate, or government area in any part of the world. All submissions are made electronically via a link from the DigCCurr 2009 Web site (http://www.ils.unc.edu/digccurr2009/).

Monday, July 07, 2008

I receive comments on blog posts as well as occasional emails from people who want to register for a digitization-related workshop (example, example). Some of the courses that have been offered in the past by various organizations may have been held only once. You'll have to contact the organization directly and ask them if they will hold ever the event again. That also includes the workshops that I do. For example, I did a workshop last month in Seattle, WA, but I don't expect to do one there again.

So how to do find appropriate workshops or courses? None of these methods are perfect, but they may help:

Contact the library consortia in your area and ask if they plan on holding a digitization workshop (or perhaps a series of workshops). If they aren't planning any, it could be that your inquiry will prompt them to consider the idea and maybe something will be scheduled.

Contact a library and information science graduate program that is near you and ask if they have anything planned. They may offer a semester-long credit course or an non-credit continuing education course. (Some universities offer their courses online, so it could be that you could take a course from a distant university on digitization, e.g., Syracuse, rather than from a university that is close by.)

Look for conferences that will be held in your area (e.g., library, content or information related conferences) and see if any of them will be offering pertinent workshops. Conferences generally bring in top workshop presenters and offer those workshops to anyone who wants to attend. I've had people in my workshops who were only attending the workshop and not the conference itself.

Talk to an organization in your region that is involved in digitization and ask them if they plan on holding any training sessions for their staff. Perhaps they would be willing to allow other people to attend the sessions, especially if it allowed them to recuperate some of the cost.

Approach a group (perhaps a local library group) and offer to help them arrange a workshop as an event. Find a workshop presenter, find a location, and market the event so that the room is full (and your costs are covered). Okay, that sounds too simple, but arranging a workshop is not as difficult as you may think. Market the workshop to the cultural heritage institutions in a 50 - 100 mile radius and any library/iSchools. You might easily attract 30 - 60 people to the workshop.

I think the bottom-line is that even if nothing seems to be scheduled in your area, that doesn't mean that something couldn't be. By contacting groups that offer workshops, you might prompt them to offer one on digitization. Even better -- you might prompt them to offer a series of workshops that include sessions on copyright, conversion, metadata and digitization preservation, for example.

Looking for a workshop? What are you waiting for...start making some calls and see if you can get something started!

In partnership with the National e-Science Centre and supported by the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) we are holding our 4th International Digital Curation Conference on 1-3 December 2008 at the Hilton Edinburgh Grosvenor hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland.

You are invited to submit both long and short papers, posters and demonstrations. Proposals will be considered from individuals, organisations and institutions across all disciplines and domains that are engaged in the creation, use and management of digital data, especially those involved in the challenge of curating data in e-Science and e-Research.

Accepted papers will form Day 2 of the programme and be considered for publication in our International Journal of Digital Curation (IJDC). Posters and demonstrations will be available throughout the programme.

This conference has become an established annual event providing a platform for showcasing new projects and research, sharing good practice and skills, and exploring collaborative possibilities and partnerships, so this is your chance to make your mark on the emerging field of Digital Curation.

Have you ever uploaded an image or a video to a website, only for it to be deleted because of copyright issues? While some areas of copyright law can be complicated enough to cause copyright lawyers sleepless nights, the basics are very simple. Armed with some simple principles, you can save yourself from running afoul of copyright law.

The seven steps on the page are too brief to answer all the questions someone might have, but for those who never think about copyright, it is a nice place to start.

If you are creating a resource list on copyright, especially one geared towards end-users, you may want to include this wikiHow page.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

The JISC Digitisation blog has posted the image below from Wired magazine. Go ahead...stare at the words in the table and think. In one year, the amount of photos uploaded to Facebook equal all of the data and images collected by the Hubble space telescope. All of the videos on YouTube are nearly five times the size of the data & images collected by Hubble. And the amount of data processed by Google every 72 minutes? Unfathomable.

Preserving digital content isn't something that must be addressed in the future, it must be addressed now. And the solutions need to have small repositories of a few gigabytes as well as repositories that contain petabytes. (A petabyte is 1,125,899,906,842,624 bytes.) No one should be burying their heads in the sand on this topic.

About Me

Jill Hurst-Wahl is an associate professor of practice in the Syracuse University School of Information Studies. She was the director its M.S. in Library and Information Science program (2012-2017). She is a member of the USNY Technology Policy and Practice Council (2009-president) and the OCPL Board of Trustees (2016-present). A former corporate librarian, Jill has always been an advocate for expanding the career opportunities for LIS graduates. Her interests include innovation, brainstorming, copyright, digitization, and social media.

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